Murder by Magic
by The Sarcastic Typo
Summary: What happens when a certain pair of homicide detectives catch a very unusual case? Crossover: Law & Order and Harry Potter. Slash and het.
1. Chapter One

**Title: Murder by Magic  
Author: Sara  
Rating: PG-13 I suppose.  
Pairings: Ginny/Draco, Ron/Hermione, Munch/Severus, Jack/Ed  
Summary: What happens when a certain pair of homicide detectives catch a very unusual case?  
A/N: This is a crossover between Law & Order and Harry Potter. Sorta strange, but hey.**

"What?" Ed asked the M.E. incredulously. "How do you not know the cause of death?" he asked.

"It's the strangest thing, but this person, although dead, is otherwise healthy. He wasn't beaten, strangled, drowned, shot, stabbed, poisoned, or anything else I can think of. It looks like his organs just stopped working for no reason," Rodgers told him.

"So we have absolutely no idea how he died?" Lennie replied.

"That's about it. All I can tell you is that it wasn't anything natural, so he _was_ murdered, but I'll be damned if I can figure out how," she said.

"Could it be a new poison that works through the system quickly?" Ed wondered.

"Doubtful. Even the poisons hardest to detect leave _some_ sort of trace. With this guy," she gestured to the poor soul resting on the table, "there's nothing."

"All right, let's go work on figuring out who he is, Lennie." Ed sighed, and the two of them made their way out of the morgue.

XxXxX

"Nothing on his prints, dental records, and there are over 5,000 missing men who match his description," Ed summarized to his lieutenant.

"There has to be some way to narrow this down. And the M.E. still doesn't know what killed him?" she asked.

"She's still stumped, lieu, it's like this guy's organs all just decided to take a little rest at the exact same time. She hasn't found anything that caused it," Lennie told her. "I feel like I'm in an episode of the X-Files. When will Scully and Mulder be rushing in to take this away from us?"

Anita Van Buren gave him a _look_ before replying, "Well, the best thing you can do for now is to go through those missing people. Maybe something will jump out at you."

"Or we'll just waste our time..." Lennie grumbled, but nonetheless sat down and started to sift through all the papers.

XxXxX

Meanwhile, far away, across an ocean and many other things, an old man with a very long, white beard sat in his very peculiar office in a very peculiar building. He wore purple robes and had a long, purple, pointed hat. On his very crooked nose - it had to have been broken at least twice - sat half moon spectacles. His deep blue eyes had a far away twinkle that indicated he was scheming - definitely not anything safe for those he considered his family and friends. This man's name was Albus Dumbledore. He was the brilliant Headmaster of a very different sort of a school... Hogwarts: a school for witchcraft and wizardry.

On his desk sat a crystal ball. Indeed, not one meant to _show the future_; it was merely a See-All, meant to _show the present,_ and it had proven useful many times, one such time being now. He gazed into it, seeing the detectives in New York go through paper after paper trying to determine who their poor victim was. He smiled, knowing that the man's identity would not be in those papers, and then snapped his fingers. This would be a perfect time for some inter-world cooperation. No doubt Severus would call him a foolish, sentimental old Gryffindor, but he imagined a time, sometime in the future, when the Wizarding World and the Muggle Word at least intersected at some points. Perhaps it was asking too much, but it was definitely a nice thought.

Dumbledore stood up and headed over to his fire place. Grabbing his floo powder he decided to fire call six people: Severus Snape, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Ginny Weasley, and Draco Malfoy. After the six had situated themselves in his office, he began to speak. "It has come to my attention that former Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge was found dead this morning by the muggle authorities in New York city in Manhattan over in the United States. I've been watching them in my See-All and they have not been able to determine a cause of death, so it is very likely that he was killed with magic. Currently they are trying to figure out who he is - another impossible task, since Cornelius was not muggle born.

I need you to go get the two detectives working on this case, Lennie Briscoe and Ed Green, their Lieutenant, Anita Van Buren, and their prosecutors, Abbie Carmicheal and Jack McCoy, since they'll have heard of this man by now too, and bring them here. It is too risky to obliviate these people since they are law enforcers and have certain knowledge that we cannot risk deleting. Also, too many people know. So I see this as a fantastic time to finally get the Muggle and Wizarding Worlds cooperating."

Severus and Draco - the jaded Slytherins in the room - rolled their eyes at Dumbledore's last comment and how ridiculously Gryffindor it was. The rest of the group simply nodded and Ginny and Harry elbowed Draco and Severus in the ribs respectively.

"I'm sure that was necessary," Severus murmured sarcastically.

"Oh it was, no need to be a smart ass, Severus." Harry laughed.

Although at one time Severus Snape and Harry Potter could have claimed they hated each other and both had various moments where they would've cheerfully wrung the other's neck, the war and working so closely together had had an effect on them. They had come to respect each other and had eventually become good friends. Many people speculated that they were lovers, because Severus was gay, and Harry was bisexual, but they just did not have feelings for each other. Their relationship had turned very father/son, and Severus was in a long-term relationship (two years, currently). They didn't really pay any attention to the rumors though, because neither cared about what other people thought about them.

Now Draco had been a surprise. He had come crawling to Dumbledore, begging not to have to take the Dark Mark and follow in his father's footsteps. No one really knew for sure what had happened that night to have such an effect on the young man, but many people were grateful for it. And although it had taken awhile, eventually, the five students and their teacher had formed a close-knit group. Ron and Hermione had, as everyone predicted, started dating in seventh year and got married a year after they graduated (a year before the Dark Lord had been defeated for the second, and final time). But the surprise was Ginny and Draco, who had started dating shortly after Ron and Hermione had gotten married. They weren't married yet though, both wanting to take their time.

Now it was three years after the Dark Lord had been defeated. Harry had been an Auror for the two years after he graduated that Voldemort was still at large, but was now the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Ron and Ginny were still Aurors, Draco was teaching Arithmancy, and Hermione had taken over History of Magic after Professor Binns _finally_ decided to retire.

The group of six made their way out of Dumbledore's office and decided on a course of action. "I guess the easiest thing would be to use a portkey," Harry rationalized. "It'd be a lot less draining than Apparating and we could just use our necklaces," he added, speaking of their necklaces that were emergency portkeys to Hogwarts. They had gotten them a year before Voldemort had been defeated and still wore them to this day, symbolizing that they were still friends.

"Ron, Draco, and I can go get the prosecutors - Abbie Carmicheal and Jack McCoy. You, Ginny, and Severus can go get the detectives and their lieutenant," Hermione said to Harry, who then nodded in agreement.

"All right, that works. Let's go." Harry smiled.

XxXxX

Ed Green and Lennie Briscoe sat at their desks still going over the missing person reports. Each of them had to have looked at about a hundred of them at least, and they were no closer to identifying the poor slob in the morgue. Lennie glanced up at the clock and as he did, he noticed three people enter the squad room. There was a middle aged gentleman who didn't look very happy accompanied by a young woman and a young man. The young woman had striking, long, red hair, and looked to be about twenty-one years old. She was shorter than both of the men, but only by a few inches. The young man was around the same age as she and had unruly black hair. Lennie could make out a lighting bolt shaped scar on his forehead and was puzzled, _How do you get a scar like that?_ He wondered to himself. The older man also had black hair, but it was longer. He was about an inch taller than the younger man and had a frown that looked to be permanently etched on his face. The three strangers saw him watching them and walked up to him.

"Lennie Briscoe and Ed Green?" the young lady asked.

"Yes, why?" Lennie responded, the cop in him instantly suspicious. How did these three know who he was?

"Where is your lieutenant?" The young man asked.

"In her office... why?" Lennie saw that Ed was now suspicious as well.

"We'll explain everything soon," the young man replied. "Hey, Severus, go get the lieutenant, we'll be fine here."

The older man nodded and stalked off towards Van Buren's office. Lennie was about to protest when he felt the young man's hand on his shoulder and a sudden pulling sensation at his navel...

A few moments later, Lennie was sitting at a very large table in an extremely large room, looking at Ed who looked just as confused as he did. _Is that candle... floating?_ He wondered and then blinked. _My god, I must be hallucinating._ Just two minutes ago he was sitting at his desk in the station, and now he was in some room in an unknown location. _The X-Files is right..._

Just then, the older man and his Lieutenant appeared right next to him. His eyes widened. Where had they come from? What the hell was going on? He decided to ask. "What is going on here?"

The young woman smiled at him sympathetically. "That was sorta mean, guys, we just came in out of nowhere and confused the hell out of them." The older man just smirked and the young man just shrugged his shoulders.

"What else could we have done, Ginny? They wouldn't have believed us if we tried to explain first," the young man replied.

"I know, Harry." She sighed. "But I think Severus enjoyed that too much."

"Well of course he did, he's just like that." Harry grinned. The man referred to as Severus just rolled his eyes.

"Contrary to popular belief, I do find other ways to amuse myself than by either scaring or confusing people," he drawled. "And you didn't answer the man's question."

_Thank you_, Lennie thought. "Oh, right, sorry." Ginny turned to Lennie. "We'll explain everything when the others get here. But I'm Ginny Weasley, this is Harry Potter, and this giant bat is Severus Snape."

"Thank you ever so much for the introduction," Severus replied dryly.

"No problem." Ginny grinned.

Suddenly, Lennie saw a flustered looking Jack McCoy and very confused Abbie Carmicheal appear before them, along with three others he didn't recognize.

"What took you three so long?" Ginny asked the one who's hair was as bright as hers. Lennie assumed they were related.

"Blame Draco," the red-headed man replied.

"It was hardly _my_ fault. That building was big!" The one Lennie figured was Draco said.

The brown-haired young woman snorted. "Hogwarts has got to be at least ten times the size."

"Yes, well, I'm _used_ to Hogwarts, aren't I?" Draco responded.

"Excuse me, " Jack spoke up irritably, "but what the hell is going on?"

"My thoughts exactly," Abbie added.

The red-headed man shook his head apologetically. "Sorry mate, we do owe you an explanation."

"Yes, we do. First let's get names out of the way. I am Hermione Granger," the brown-haired young woman replied, "this is Harry Potter, Severus Snape, Ginny Weasley, Ron Weasley, and Draco Malfoy," she finished.

"And we were asked by our ever-so-well-meaning-but-slightly-batty Headmaster to get you and bring you here." Draco rolled his eyes.

"Oh, shush, Draco." Ginny elbowed him the ribs. "Continue, Hermione."

"Thank you. Anyway, we were asked to contact you about this current case you were working on. The man you found in central park? No ID and no discernable cause of death?" Hermione said.

Lennie looked at her curiously, "What does this have to do with that case?"

"Well, you see... the man killed was named Cornelius Fudge. He was a wizard and he was killed with magic," Hermione told him.

"That's preposterous! Magic doesn't exist," Jack remarked.

Hermione rolled her eyes and placed her hands on her hips. Severus spoke up, "Look around you. This entire castle is magic. And if it doesn't exist, please, do explain how you got here." His tone was the same as if he was talking to a particularly dense first year. Jack didn't have an answer.

"Thank you, Severus," Hermione said. "This is why you could not find a cause of death. He was killed with a curse - Avada Kedavra. It is an Unforgivable Curse and there is no defense against it. Harry here is the only person to ever survive it."

"Gee, thanks for fitting that in there," Harry grumbled.

"Well it's true," she replied.

Lennie sat back, deep in thought. He felt as though his entire brain had been taken and shook for a good, solid ten minutes and then given back to him. _Magic? Wizards? They don't pay me enough for this._

"So, where are we?" Ed asked.

"We're at Hogwarts, school of witchcraft and wizardry," Ron told him.

"You have a school?" Anita asked incredulously.

"Well of course we have a school. Young witches and wizards need to get their training somewhere, don't they?" Draco answered.

"I think we'd better give them some background, you guys, so they're not going into this blindly," Ginny spoke up.

"Yeah, that's a good idea. Let's tell them Harry's story," Hermione responded.

"Oh, god." Harry shook his head. "That is going to take _forever._"

"Let's just give them the Spark notes version," Hermione replied. Everyone but Harry looked at her oddly. "It's a Muggle thing. They serve as supplements and guides to books that they study in school. Basically, it just condenses them down so it's easier to understand," she explained.

"Oh, kind of like the _summaris_ spell," Draco said.

"Yes, exactly," Hermione nodded. "Anyway, I'll start explaining, because there are a few Death Eaters out there still not captured that could be responsible for this."

"There are a lot of people out there who could be responsible for this," Severus replied. "Fudge was an imbecile."

"Yeah, that's true," Harry responded, "but I disliked him too and I wouldn't have killed him. You don't kill everyone who annoys you," he paused, "at least I hope you don't, Severus, 'cause there would be a lot of people no longer alive."

Severus just rolled his eyes, "We should let Hermione start telling your courageous story."

"Oh bother," Harry replied.

TBC

A/N: Had to fix it up a bit. I hadn't realized the scene dividers I was using (stars) weren't showing up. And, there were a few errors I wanted to fix.


	2. Chapter Two

**Title: Murder by Magic  
Author: Sara  
Rating: PG-13 I suppose.  
Pairings: Ginny/Draco, Ron/Hermione, Munch/Severus, Jack/Ed  
Summary: What happens when a certain pair of homicide detectives catch a very unusual case?  
A/N: This is a crossover between Law & Order and Harry Potter. Sorta strange, but hey.**

"Okay, there used to be this wizard who went as evil as you could go. He called himself Lord Voldemort. He gathered followers and became more and more powerful. He killed and tortured Muggles - non magic folk - and Muggle borns - witches or wizards with one or more non magic parent - because he believed that they were beneath him. It didn't take long for everyone to become terrified of him. People wouldn't even say his name. Well, one day, he decided to go after the Potters. Their so-called friend had betrayed their location to him and he went to find them. He killed Harry's parents, and then went to kill Harry, who was only 1 year old at the time. But he couldn't do it. He cast the killing curse and somehow, no one really quite understands how, it rebounded on him and barely alive, he fled." Hermione took a breath.

Their five guests were now staring at Harry in awe. She smiled. "Yes, it was quite amazing. Anyway, Harry was sent to live with his Aunt and Uncle, since they were his only living relatives. Unfortunately, they were also the worst sort of Muggles - they had a very Medieval attitude about magic and tried to, unsuccessfully 'squash the magic out of him'. Of course, they failed and he eventually came to Hogwarts where myself and Ron met him and we all became best friends. In first year, he came face-to-face with Voldemort again and escaped; in second year, he slew a basilisk, which is a huge snake that kills you simply by looking into your eyes, and rescued Ginny from the Chamber of Secrets, after again meeting Voldemort. In third year, we found out the truth about who betrayed Harry's parents to Voldemort, and in fourth year, Voldemort finally came back. In fifth year, the ministry of magic, which Fudge was the head of at the time, would not acknowledge that Voldemort had returned until Fudge saw him himself. Then in sixth year, Harry faced off with Voldemort again, same with seventh year. Finally, after two more years of fighting, Harry defeated him with his own wand," Hermione finished. Harry was now blushing at the looks he was getting.

"I had a _lot_ of help, people. There's no way I could have ever done all of that by myself. And some of it was simply good luck," Harry quickly said.

"Harry is a Gryffindor." Draco smiled. "Which is one of the Houses this school is divided into, and thus, very, very modest. He's probably one of the most powerful wizards of his generation, but you'll never get him to take any credit for it."

"Anyway, the point of the story is that Voldemort's followers were called Death Eaters. These people were basically his inner circle and just _liked_ torturing and killing - with the exception of course, Severus, who was a spy for our side at great risk to himself," Hermione added. This time

the awe-inspired looks were cast at Severus. He just rolled his eyes. "After Voldemort's downfall, the final time, nearly all of his followers were captured, however, two still remain at large - Lucius Malfoy and Thaddeus Nott. We believe that one of these people are responsible for Fudge's death."

"Wait, Malfoy, isn't that his last name?" Abbie asked, pointing to Draco.

"Unfortunately," he said, disgusted, "it's my father. He's a bit of an arse."

"There's the understatement of the year." Ginny rolled her eyes. "He's... no, I don't think there's a word quite vile enough to describe him. I'm just glad he didn't manage to poison you, Draco."

"Oh, he was close. I just finally grew a backbone and stood up to him." Draco shrugged.

"Now who's being modest?" Harry teased.

"Shut it," Draco grumbled.

"So, anyway, does everyone understand?" Hermione asked.

"If this person is a wizard who committed this crime, how could we possibly help you?" Ed asked.

"You don't have to be magical to be intelligent or helpful," Ginny answered. "Besides, it's not like we would let you continue to try to identify a man whom you had no chance of identifying - that would be pointless. Our Headmaster believes that this is a time for inter-world cooperation," she paused, "and we also wanted to fill you in because if it is either Lucius or Nott, they're going to kill again."

"I wonder why whoever it was decided to kill Fudge in America?" Harry wondered.

"Probably thought Dumbledore wouldn't pick up on it. Fools," Severus muttered. "Dumbledore knows _everything_. That makes me think it wasn't Lucius. He may be a complete bastard, but he's not stupid."

"That's true. Hey, I have a question, where the body was found, was there a symbol drawn anywhere near him or on him? Maybe a skull with a snake through the mouth?" Harry asked Ed and Lennie.

"Yeah, there was something like that burned onto his forearm," Lennie responded. "I'd show you a picture, but it's with all the evidence..." he trailed off as all the evidence appeared in a box right before him. "Wow."

Harry smiled, "Magic is handy like that. Can you find it?"

"Sure," he riffled through the box and found a picture of the guy's forearm with the tattoo-like object and handed it to Harry.

"Yeah, this is definitely the work of a Death Eater." Harry nodded grimly.

"Is there any chance it was an imposter? Someone trying to frame the Death Eaters?" Jack asked. "Because it seems to me that someone in hiding wouldn't want to bring attention to themselves by killing."

"That's a good point, but with magic... it's a lot easier to kill and torture. No blood, no clean up, no fingerprints... all you do is wave a wand. You can drive someone to insanity simply by keeping them under the Cruciatus curse. It's simply never-ending excruciating pain." Harry shook his head. "And this symbol? This is one of the hardest to duplicate. Voldemort made it that way on purpose. If this is an imposter he's been studying the Death Eaters for years and would have to be extremely powerful."

"I want regular old non-magical killers back." Lennie sighed.

Ron gave him a sympathetic look. "Yeah, but luckily we have a fitting place to keep all of these lunatics."

"Where do you imprison a wizard? Couldn't they simply escape?" Abbie asked, curiously.

"We keep them at Azkaban - surrounded around the clock by Dementors... horrible creatures that suck the happiness right out of you," Hermione told her. "Just being around them for a few minutes makes you want to crawl into a little ball and die, but for days, weeks, months, or even years? You'd be hard pressed to find the will to _breathe,_ let alone escape."

"What about the worst offenders?" Jack asked. "Do you have something like the Death Penalty?"

"Death would be a welcome respite to many of the people in Azkaban," Severus said solemnly. "I had to spend a few days there myself because everyone believed me to be a Death Eater. Which, I suppose, proves that I was a good spy, but that was enough time for me just to want to be killed and have it over. No, we have the Dementor's kiss. It's the worst punishment one could ever get. It doesn't kill you; it sucks out your soul."

"Damn." Ed shivered. "Sounds harsh."

"Very harsh." Draco nodded. "A person without a soul is hardly a person anymore. Sure, they're breathing and alive, but they're merely a shell of their former self."

Ginny shook her head, "Enough of this topic! It's much too morbid and depressing. It's after one; let's have some lunch before we have to venture back into the world of murderers and other despicable people."

Ron nodded, "Good idea! I'm starving."

"You're _always_ starving." Hermione rolled her eyes. "Anyway, the Hogwarts House Elves," here she frowned slightly, "are fantastic. They make the best food. We can all head down to the kitchen and talk of much more light-hearted things before we get back to this murder. I'm sure you have a million questions."

Ed grinned. "To say the least,"

"Come on then." She smiled, gesturing for everyone to follow her. Severus started walking in the opposite direction. "You coming, Severus?"

"I shall meet you there. I am going to see if John would like to come. He is most likely on his lunch break currently," he replied

"All right." She nodded.

XxXxX

About fifteen minutes later, Lennie heard Severus and who Hermione had explained was his lover, approaching the kitchen. For some reason he thought that the man's voice had sounded very familiar, which of course, he dismissed as absurd, until he walked through the door. It was none other than John Munch - former Baltimore detective, current SVU detective, and conspiracy theorist.

"John!" he exclaimed, in shock. Munch looked at him, surprised. "Are you... a... _wizard_?" Lennie asked.

"Lennie?" John asked, surprised but amused. "Severus, when you said you had 'guests' today, you should have been more specific."

"I was unaware you two knew each other," Severus replied, equally amused.

John rolled his eyes and turned back to his gaping fellow detective. "No, Lennie, I'm not a wizard. I just met Severus a couple years ago, and we really got along..."

"So you're just gay?"

"Yes."

"Okay, that's... yeah, I can live with that."

Munch looked amused. "So being gay is more normal than being a wizard?" he asked, dryly. "Gotcha. We'd better broadcast this - then maybe the Christian Coalition will lighten up once they see the choices."

"No, it's just that I've had way too many surprises today, I don't think I could take anymore. Besides, you've been married four times - it's not exactly hard to imagine that something's been wrong."

Severus smirked at that. "That is true."

"You didn't have to back him up, you know," John replied, sitting down and grabbing a sandwich off the tray on the table.

"Of course I did, I'm a Slytherin." Severus responded.

"Okay, can someone explain to me what that means?" Abbie asked.

"Slytherin is one of the four houses that this school is divided into. The other three are Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff. You're sorted in your first year by the sorting hat - that determines which house you'd do best in. Each house represents certain characteristics. People in Gryffindor are brave and courageous; people in Ravenclaw are wise and studious; people in Hufflepuff are loyal and hard-working; and people in Slytherin are cunning and ambitious." Hermione explained.

"That's my Hermione - sounding like she swallowed the textbook!" Ron laughed, helping himself to another sandwich.

"And that's Ron - acting like a garbage disposal!" Hermione retorted.

"I have a question," Jack spoke up suddenly. "Earlier, Hermione mentioned muggle borns as people who have one or both non magic parents. How is it possible for someone to be a wizard or witch if their parents aren't magical?"

"Bloodlines," Severus responded. "Hermione is muggle born, both of her parents are dentists; however, she has an ancestor who was a wizard."

"Yes," John spoke up, "Severus has tried explaining this to me and the way it sounds, everyone has some magical blood in them. My great-great-great aunt on my mom's side was a witch. It's fascinating."

Ron snorted, "You two are ridiculously suited for each other, the way you both love knowing more than others."

Ed looked at Ron curiously. "From what I can figure out, you and Hermione are married, right? And Ginny and Draco, they're dating?"

"Yeah, that's right." Ron nodded. "And John and Severus have been dating for a couple years."

"So, are you two just really open minded or is the Wizarding World different when it comes to sexuality?" Ed wondered.

"What's to be open minded about?" Ron asked, perplexed.

"The fact that John and Severus are both men," Ed responded.

"My sister-in-law isn't even completely human. I think that's a little bit stranger than two blokes." Ron shrugged.

Draco rolled his eyes, "Ron, he's Muggle! Most Muggles don't even let two people of the same sex marry each other."

"They don't? Why not?" Ron asked.

"Good question." Ed shook his head.

"The Wizarding World mostly discriminates against blood. Those who aren't 'pure-blooded' are sometimes looked down upon as inferior, hence the Dark Lord. That was his main cause, to rid the world of Muggles and Muggle borns. Or, it was the first time. The second time it was to kill Harry," Severus added.

"Of course, it's completely wrong, because Harry is half-blooded and he's one of the most powerful wizards of his generation and Hermione is the smartest of her generation and she's completely muggle born," Draco responded.

"So who is the Headmaster of this school? The man you mentioned earlier?" Anita asked. She'd been rather quiet up until now, attempting to soak everything and make sense of it. It wasn't much better, but she had finally stopped having the urge to pinch herself every three minutes.

"Albus Dumbledore - brilliant, powerful, and more than a little batty," Ron replied fondly.

"Indeed. We will be speaking to him after everyone is finished with lunch, so you shall be able to meet him then," Severus informed everyone. "And then, we have to figure out what we will be doing about this murder."

About ten minutes passed, when Munch spoke up, "I think it's time for me to go, Severus. I have to floo back and then drive back to the station."

Severus nodded. "I shall walk you back to my quarters," he responded. The two of them left the kitchen.

Lennie watched them, still slightly puzzled. "How did they meet?" he asked.

"It's actually really funny," Ginny laughed, "but you'll have to get Severus to tell you. He doesn't like other people 'gossiping' about him."

Lennie nodded, but then something occurred to him, "Won't the other people at the station realize that we're missing? And also, the people at McCoy's and Carmicheal's office?"

"Oh, no." Hermione shook her head. "We put a distraction charm around the buildings. It won't interfere with their work, but any time they need to talk to any of you, they will suddenly be distracted with something else and forget about it."

"You can do that?" Ed looked impressed. "That's cool."

About fifteen minutes later, Severus returned. "Is everyone finished eating?" he asked.

Everyone nodded and after that, Severus motioned for them to follow him. They did so, and made their way around the castle. Lennie found himself mesmerized - the pictures moved, there were ghosts flying around. He wondered what the school was like during the school year, when all of the students were there.

Eventually, they found themselves at a gargoyle. "What blasted piece of candy did the old fool choose as his password this time?" Severus asked, rolling his eyes.

"It's 'jolly rancher'," Harry replied, amused. "He's developed a liking to them. They're another muggle sweet similar to lemon drops, except they come in different flavors."

Severus shook his head and said the password. The gargoyle jumped aside and everyone headed up the stairs. Dumbledore's office was large, so even though they had eleven people, it wasn't cramped.

While the rest of the castle was rather interesting, what with the moving portraits, ghosts, and other things that would be entertaining to someone who had never seen them before, Dumbledore's office was a virtual playground. Different gizmos and gadgets were everywhere - Lenne, Jack, Ed, Abbie, and Anita had never seen so many peculiar objects. It was all too fascinating. As they were all absorbed in checking out all of Dumbledore's items, they missed seeing him walk in.

"Hello." He smiled pleasantly. Jack and Abbie jumped; Lennie, Anita, and Ed nearly did, but their quick cop reflexes kept them from making it visible.

"It's Merlin himself!" Jack exclaimed, in awe.

Dumbledore simply smiled. "Not quite, although I do believe Merlin was my great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grand uncle. My name is Albus Dumbledore, I am the Headmaster of this fine school. You may all call me Albus, of course."

"So you're the one that got us all brought here?" Lennie asked.

"Ah, yes, that was me. See, I saw you and your partner through my See-All. It alerts me to important events. The death of a former minister of magic is included in that category. I knew you had found poor Cornelius' body, and I knew you were working on the case and that your prosecutors had heard of the case as well. I also did not want to take the risk of obliviating you - law enforcement is tricky work and a mis-managed spell could have had a disastrous effect. Not to mention, if you ask Severus, I am a bit of a sentimental old fool. I would like to believe it is possible for the Muggle World and the Wizarding World to help each other out, occasionally."

Lennie nodded. There was something about this man - something that made you want to trust him. It was strange, but then again, this whole situation qualified as 'strange'.

"All I wanted to make sure is that if there are any more killings in New York in the Manhattan area that are magical - and I'm sure everyone here will be able to help you out with the detection of magical crimes - is that you two get assigned to the case. We hope to catch whoever is responsible before then, of course, but just in case." Dumbledore finished.

Ed and Lennie nodded, figuring that this sounded reasonable.

"Is that all, Albus?" Severus asked. At Dumbledore's nod, Severus turned to the group. "We'll all be heading back to the Great Hall so we can figure out what will be our primary course of action." The others nodded, and once again, they followed Severus to their destination.

TBC

A/N: I love crossovers. Review, por favor. xD


	3. Chapter Three

**Title: Murder by Magic  
Author: Sara  
Rating: PG-13 I suppose.  
Pairings: Ginny/Draco, Ron/Hermione, Munch/Severus, Jack/Ed  
Summary: What happens when a certain pair of homicide detectives catch a very unusual case?  
A/N: This is a crossover between Law & Order and Harry Potter. Sorta strange, but hey.**

Meanwhile, in a building far off the radar of any "See-All", two figures sat huddled, talking quietly.

"They actually got the muggle police involved?" sneered the taller one. He had long blonde hair, held a cane, and carried an air of aristocracy about him. He was named Lucius Malfoy. His companion was shorter, much more the henchman type. He had black hair, a sneering, vile face, and was named Thaddeus Nott.

"I always knew Dumbledore was an old fool," Nott replied smugly. "Now, who is our next victim?"

"Oh, you're going to love this." Lucius' smile was nothing short of venomous.

XxXxX

"You know, we're looking at this like it's one of them, either or - isn't it entirely possible that they're conspiring?" Ed asked.

"That's another possibility - but Lucius, he's..." Hermione started.

"...a condescending bastard?" Harry supplied.

"That works. I'm not sure if he would lower himself to work with a Nott. They were never on the same level - socially, financially, or within Voldemort's ranks."

"If there are only two of them left it doesn't seem like he has much choice," Jack pointed out.

"Lucius is also very pretty. I would not be surprised if he seduced someone into following orders for him. And there is always Imperius," Severus responded.

"What's that?" Abbie asked.

"It's another Unforgivable Curse," Hermione explained. "It forces whoever you cast it on to do anything and everything you ask them to - even killing others or themselves. Luckily, it is possible to overthrow. Harry was able to in our fourth year."

"How many of these 'Unforgivable Curses' are there? And what does the title mean?" Anita asked.

"There are three," Hermione started, switching into textbook mode. "Imperius, Cruciatus, and _Avada Kedavra._ The first, like I said, allows the caster complete control over whoever they are casting it on, but it _is_ possible to throw it off. The word used to cast it is _imperio, _which is Latin for 'order', 'govern', or 'command'. The second is probably the worst, depending on your viewpoint. It is merely constant, never-ending pain. The word Cruciatus is Latin for torture. The spell, _crucio_, is Latin for torment. It is possible to drive people insane using this curse. The third curse is also horrible - _Avada Kedavra._ It is the killing curse. There is no known defense to it and only Harry has survived it. All of these curses are given the name Unforgivable because using them on another human being can result in a life term in Azkaban," Hermione finished.

"Thank you," Anita replied. "You sound so knowledgeable about this."

Hermione flushed. "Thanks."

"Hermione spends her spare time reading gigantic textbooks. She's probably read nearly every book in the Hogwarts library." Ron smirked.

"Oh shush, Ron." Hermione hit him.

"It is certainly not a bad thing - Hermione was always top notch in her studies. Something I cannot say for you, can I?" Severus said to Ron.

Ron turned a little red. "Yeah, Harry and I were always the ones being nagged by 'Mione to do our homework. Especially Potions work."

"I wonder why." Severus rolled his eyes.

A few of the non-magical folks were looking slightly confused, so Harry elaborated. "Severus teaches Potions here at Hogwarts. We used to be his students. While we were, Voldemort was still at large, so Severus had to act like he hated all students beside his Slytherins, because he's also the Head of the Slytherin house. Now, he's mellowed - he's still strict as all hell because it's Potions and one mistake could be fatal, but he doesn't favor the Slytherins anymore."

"Yes, that was one of the most irritating aspects of spying, having to belittle those students who were truly gifted. At least Draco was rather good at Potions on his own merits, so that wasn't too painful,"Severus added.

"I was a snooty little Slytherin pureblood, up until sixth year. Everyone thought I was going to go dark, except for Severus, who always tried to show me the right way, even if he had to do it subtly," Draco informed their guests.

Suddenly, the Headmaster walked into the Great Hall. He looked slightly troubled. "I have to send one of the detectives back immediately - the person responsible for this crime you are discussing now has struck again. I have just found out that Sybil Trelawney was killed about an hour ago in the Manhattan area."

"I'll go," Ed spoke up. Dumbledore nodded.

"Follow me," he replied. Ed noticed that the twinkle he'd saw in the old man's eye the first time he'd met him was diminished. There was an aura of melancholy around him - obviously, he'd known this victim. It seemed as though all of the magical people had. Ed followed Dumbledore out of the Great Hall.

"Am I right in assuming you all knew this victim?" Jack asked.

"She taught Divination," Hermione looked completely shocked. "I can't believe it. I mean, it was crazy Professor Trelawney - we all made fun of her and thought she was completely insane. And me! I was horrible to her, always looking down on her, Merlin..." she trailed off.

Ron pulled her to him. "Hermione, it's all right. It wasn't like you were alone."

"I know," she said into Ron's shoulder, "but I feel horrible."

"You know what this means, right?" Draco spoke up.

"It is a message." Severus nodded solemnly. "A message that even those who work at Hogwarts are not safe." He paused and looked at the four remaining non-magical guests. "And now, neither are you."

XxXxX

After Ed returned, bearing the news that the body had been killed the same way and that the Dark Mark was burned onto Trelawney's forearm post-mortem, Harry announced that they would all be staying the night - protected at Hogwarts. Anita protested this at first, saying that she had a family to return to, but Harry informed her that they were already being relocated. Everyone was involved now, and there was no turning back.

A slight change had occurred, since the finding of the second body. Predictably, the atmosphere was even more subdued, but Severus noted curiously that Jack seemed to gravitate closer to Ed. No one else had really noticed as no one else had really been paying attention, their energy focused on what needed to be done to stop any more killings, but Severus had always been extremely observant. It was a necessary trait of a spy, former or otherwise.

After a while, he decided to test his theory by bringing up an excuse to get himself alone with Jack. He suggested a restroom break, one he could tell the other man would eagerly take him up on. As luck would have it, no one else did. He led Jack to the nearest restroom.

Quickly, they both finished and were walking back to the Great Hall. Severus posed his question then, "How close are you and Detective Green?"

Jack looked at him surprised before answering honestly - "We've been lovers for about six months now."

Severus nodded. "Thought so."

"How could you tell?"

"Do not worry, you were not being obvious, I am simply used to having to pick up on small details, such as your gradual movement to sitting next to him."

"Ah," Jack responded. "I suppose this recent threat has worried me a little."

"Yes, how they managed to capture Trelawney is a bit of a mystery. She rarely ever came out of her tower. Clearly, we've underestimated whoever this is; it makes me think it's Lucius."

They continued to talk as they entered the Great Hall again.

"What time is it?" Ron asked.

"Nearly six," Hermione told him. "Why?"

"I'm hungry," he responded.

"Are you ever _not_ hungry?" she asked, exasperated.

"Hey, it's been awhile since lunch," Ron protested.

"Not even five hours," Hermione pointed out dryly.

"That's awhile!" he exclaimed. Hermione just shook her head.

"Is anyone else hungry?" she asked.

Ed, Jack, Lennie, Abbie, Harry, and Draco were all hungry, so they decided to head back down to the kitchens for some food.

XxXxX

After dinner, their discussing and planning took them deep into the night. It was around one a.m. when Severus finally spoke up, catching everyone's attention. "I think it is time for bed," he said. "Follow me, I will show you all to your rooms," he said to all of the non-magical law enforcers. They did so; Anita was showed to a special room and given the access to floo to her family, Lennie was next, then Abbie, and finally Severus led Ed and Jack to their room. Ed fought off a flush as realized Severus had to know about him and Jack to give them one room. He thanked him discreetly.

"No problem," Severus waved away his thank you and headed back to his own rooms. As he walked into the living room area, familiar, slender arms wrapped themselves around him. He turned. "John." He sighed, letting the older man kiss him.

"I've been waiting; how was your day?" John asked, sarcastic. It was clear the day had been trying.

Severus snorted, "As if you even need to ask." He kissed John again. "They killed Trelawney."

"I know, I heard." John sighed. "It's all right, Severus, we'll get whoever is doing this."

"I hope so."

"So, how tired are you?" John asked, kissing Severus again, with more intent this time.

"Not _that_ tired." Severus smirked, returning the kiss.

"Lead the way, then." John smiled and allowed Severus to drag him into his bedroom.

XxXxX

Meanwhile, Ed and Jack were talking quietly in their room.

"Can you believe all this? Magic, wizards, curses, Dementors? I feel like I'm losing my mind. Everything I've ever thought is being completely turned upside down." Ed shook his head.

"I know, it's insane," Jack agreed.

"So, how did Severus know we were lovers?" Ed asked curiously.

"Well, when we went to use the restroom, he asked me. Apparently I started gravitating towards you after the second body was found. I was worried." Jack looked at Ed sheepishly and Ed smiled.

"Damn, that man is observant."

"He was a spy at one point. I assume you'd have to be pretty observant for that."

"True. Can you imagine that? Spying on this evil wizard? That must've been so dangerous."

"Definitely."

"I wonder how he and Munch met."

"Do you know Detective Munch?" Jack asked.

"Not well; I've met him a couple times when SVU cases and our cases overlap. Didn't know he'd been married four times, though. I wonder what made him finally think he might be going after the wrong gender?"

"Who knows? Maybe we can get Severus to tell us the story tomorrow, if Detective Munch is here again. It is Saturday, he might have some time off."

"Ginny seemed to think it was funny. What do you think happened?"

"I have no clue. But I'm tired, I think I want to get to sleep." Jack yawned.

"All right, Jack, goodnight."

XxXxX

Lennie laid on the bed in his room and stared up at the ceiling. He really had no clue about what to make of all this. Everything he'd ever thought seemed to be completely wrong. He was supposed to be the old, jaded, seen-everything-there-is cop. Obviously there was a complete other world he'd been missing. Sleep seemed to be avoiding him tonight. He got up and put on his shoes. Granted, going for a walk in a huge castle he'd never been in before didn't seem like a very good idea, but he didn't have any other choice. He'd go crazy if he had to stay cooped up in this room for too long without being able to sleep.

He walked quietly down the hallway, looking at the pictures and everything around him. The found the castle undeniably fascinating and that made him feel like one of those tourists that always came to New York expecting The Big Apple and all the glitz and glamor instead of the reality of it. He wondered if this place was like that as well. Glittering and intriguing on the outside but hiding much more deep, dark secrets on the inside. He decided that in a world where it was possible to be driven insane by saying a word and waving a pointed stick, that was probably very likely.

"Unable to sleep?" inquired a soft voice. Lennie would've jumped, but his quick cop reflexes kept that from happening. He turned around and saw the benign face of the Headmaster.

"Yeah," Lennie responded. There was something about this old man that made you want to trust him. He appeared gentle, but there were moments, like the one where they found about the Divination professor, where you realized that he was extremely powerful behind his kind demeanor, long, white beard, and twinkling eyes. Lennie liked that. Sure, he had a few insecurities about his own age, not that he would actually _tell_ anyone, but this man was an inspiration. _Another odd thing_, Lennie thought, _Me? Thinking about inspiration. What is the world coming to?_

"I find that a nice cup of tea usually does the trick." Dumbledore smiled warmly. "Follow me to my office, I'll get you one."

Shrugging, Lennie complied, and followed the old Headmaster to his office.

XxXxX

Abbie was pacing. She wasn't in control of things here, and it was driving her insane. Everything was so... wrong! This wasn't real, right?

While she had been able to keep herself together as she talked with the entire group, now, sitting alone having time to brood, she couldn't help but question her sanity. She needed sleep.

_Maybe when I wake up_, she thought, lying down in the bed and closing her eyes, _I will be back in my own apartment and this will all have been a very bizarre dream._

XxXxX

Severus sighed as he tried to sleep. John laid next to him, his head resting on Severus' shoulder. Severus smiled a little; John was surprisingly, a big unconscious cuddler. Would he admit it during the day? Most likely not; the man was as stubborn as Severus himself sometimes.

Severus was worried; the only ones who would ever know that would be his ceiling and John, of course, but it was true. The fact that whoever was responsible - most likely Lucius, damn the bastard - had been able to capture Trelawney was a frightening prospect. Their new muggle compatriots would be in a lot of danger until this person was caught. They all seemed like very intelligent individuals and he didn't want anything to happen to them. Not that he would actually _tell_ them that or anything.

"Go to sleep. Stop thinking," murmured a muffled voice near his ear. John had an uncanny ability to be able to read him, sometimes, and he didn't even have to be looking at him or fully awake.

"I can't."

"You're worrying too much."

"How do you always know?" Severus shifted to be able to look into John's eyes.

"Because I do it too. Now get to sleep." John kissed him and laid his head back on his shoulder. Soon, he was dead to the world once more.

Severus smirked and closed his eyes, lulled into sleep by the sound of John's breathing.

TBC

A/N: I haven't forgotten this story! I'm about half-way done with the next chapter. I should go work on that now, actually. Review, por favor. xD


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